Republican lawmakers held a petition drive on Monday in an effort to put pressure on the Democrats, the legislature's majority party.

The petroleum gross receipts tax is a percentage of the wholesale price of gasoline and is charged to companies distributing petroleum products in Connecticut. It is scheduled to increase 16 percent on July 1, from 7 percent to 8.1 percent. That tax is in addition to the state's regular 25-cents-per-gallon gas tax and the 18.4 cents-per-gallon in federal gas taxes.

Meanwhile, the diesel tax is scheduled to increase 3.5 cents per gallon. Democrats criticized GOP members for originally backing the tax increase in 2005.